I'm baaack

Hi all,

I just got caught up on the blog. I've been out of my normal routine and kept forgetting to read. But I'm happy to see that we're all on the same page.

First, I may be interested in the Iron Girl. Maybe, based on who signs up, we could do a team race. Just a thought. I'm not terribly motivated to do a tri but I recently decided that I have to a goal to reach.

I've been trying to get back into a routine that I can fit into my work sked. What I'm opting for is 2-3 different morning workouts. Something short and quick -- mostly involving planks, ab work, some stretching and weight work. Then I try to do 20-30 minutes on the bike (on the trainer).

But the idea is to get in a workout of some kind in the morning. Then when I get into town I'm walking from the parking garage to the Capitol (about 15 minutes).

I have found in the past that doing two 20-minute walks a day after lunch or dinner not only spurs weight loss but has gotten me into condition to start running. I ran the Army 10-miler a bunch of years ago and that's how I prepared. But I found it really reduces stress and as I get faster and walk farther I want to increase my time. I'm trying to figure out the best routes around the Capitol. I prefer being outdoors but that's not always possible so thank goodness for the habitrail underground.

Considering my good eating habits it seems like I should be losing weight but I am maintaining, which might not be possible otherwise. Aging really sucks. But I've cut way down on meat consumption and try to eat loads of fruits and veggies. I'm working at the Reston farmers market and getting my produce free. So tomatoes, peaches, nectarines, eggplants, apples etc. fill my kitchen. I love it. I've been trying to get ALL sugar out of my diet and I avoid white flour, sugar and rice. I found a great red jasmine rice and some kashi pilaf that looks good. I roast veggies and enjoy.

My normal routine looks something like this:

Breakfast: Plain Stonyfield or greek yogurt with whatever fruit I want -- some cinnamon, golden roasted flax seed, sliced almonds and sometimes bear naked granola. Yum. I have the occasional OJ but it's loaded with sugar so I try to get water going early. I always bring my 16 oz water bottle in the car to drink for the commute.

Lunch: All summer I've eaten greens with loads of tomatoes, onion, sunflower seeds, goat or blue cheese, red pepper and anything else that looks good. I use an organic salad dressing called Drew's or plain ol' balsamic, which is so good on fresh tomatoes.

Snack: Yogurt/almonds or fruit/almonds

Dinner: I've been trying to mix it up but love making chicken and bean or just bean tacos with corn tortillas, fresh salsa, an excellent taco sauce I make. I buy amazing heirloom beans that cook up much faster than hard store-bought beans. I've also trying to use a grain such as rice/quinoa/pilaf with roasted veggies.

I do keep organic dark chocolate around.

So now I just have to get into a good exercise routine. I'm getting there.